


Collision

by crystalfox



Series: Timeslips [4]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: AU, Gen, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-12
Updated: 2018-01-12
Packaged: 2019-03-03 21:31:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13349913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crystalfox/pseuds/crystalfox
Summary: Bail has no time for arrogant individuals.





	Collision

**Author's Note:**

> Part of 'Timeslips' - Strange happenings across the galaxy, through time and not just space. People are falling into little timeslips, allowing them to travel backwards, forwards, up, down, and sideways through time without realising it.
> 
> Please see series page for more info/notes.

Bail was on a covert mission to meet with a potential informant, who claimed to have vital information about the Empire's plans, on a bustling Mid Rim planet dotted with cities. He volunteered as he had distant relatives there who could act as a cover. The meeting in a dimly lit cantina proved to be fruitful and he left promising more credits to the informant for more detailed data. It wasn't as vital as the Alliance had hoped for but it would be useful. At this point, every tiny bit of information they could get their hands on would help to build up an important picture of what the Empire wanted to do. The city was like a million others in this region - busy, crowded, and fairly characterless. As he walked briskly back to his ship, he calculated how long it would take him to get home, he couldn't wait. Recently, he felt as if he had been so caught up in the Rebellion that he had barely spent any time with his wife and daughter, who were also working tirelessly to help the Rebel Alliance. However, they were to have a brief respite as they would all be on Alderaan together over the next few days. He planned to savour every moment with his precious family.

An airy square filled with stalls selling all manner of food and drink was all that was between him and his ship, he crossed it as quickly as possible and it was as he was reaching the entrance to the dock where the ships were kept that he was distracted by a commotion.

 

* * *

 

 Hux was annoyed. Very annoyed, he didn't want to seem paranoid but he was fairly sure this was Ren's fault. He had been on a small basic vessel transporting him between warships when they had to make an 'emergency landing'. The two stormtroopers he was with _insisted_ they land on this nondescript planet, adamant they couldn't fix it, unable to even properly explain what exactly was wrong, maintaining they should wait for another ship to retrieve them. The radio on the ship crackled noisily, blinking in and out, Hux slammed his fist down on the control panel in annoyance, nothing but white noise blaring back at him. So, he relented and they docked in order to wait.

"I'm going for a walk." Hux muttered, "You're to try and fix it anyway. Send me a message on my comm when you've fixed it or they've sent another ship." _Ren definitely had something to do with this,_ he thought to himself bitterly. He frowned, imagining Kylo's amusement at stranding Hux on some random planet when there was work to be done, it was exactly the sort of childish thing he would do to try and pull rank.

 Hux became distracted by various plans which he could enact in order to get back at Ren, his mind racing with ideas. So distracted that, by the time he glanced at his watch, an hour had passed, and, as he studied the map on his comms device, he had nearly walked across the whole of the city. _Kriff,_ he exhaled in exasperation at his mistake in travelling so far away from the dock. He cursed Kylo again.

He stopped in the middle of the street, and radioed the stormtroopers, "Have you fixed the ship?"

There was a long pause, and then one hurriedly replied, "No, sir, but a ship has been sent and it's nearly here. Approximate time of arrival is 20 minutes."

"Nearly here?" He sputtered, "Why didn't you inform me immediately?"

"Sorry, sir." They offered no excuse.

 _Idiots,_ Hux thought furiously, he consulted his map, frustrated at the time it would take him to walk back. He could remain where he was and instruct them to come get him but he felt restless and he dismissed the idea of waiting. Striding purposefully, he followed the directions on the map back to the dock.

 It was as he was crossing through a market that an old woman, carrying several heavy looking bags, ambled slowly into his path. He saw her with enough time to give way, but he didn't, bumping into her with such force that she fell to the ground with a cry of pain. The woman shouted something at him, it was in a language unfamiliar to Hux but nevertheless he recognised that it was some sort of swear word. He loomed over her, anger surging through him at what he perceived as this woman's disrespect, and without even thinking, he backhanded her across the face.

 

* * *

 

Bail watched as the thin, red-headed man slammed into the woman with complete disregard and then proceeded to strike her forcefully. Within seconds, Bail was behind the offender, his blaster pressing strongly at the back of the younger man's neck.

" _What_ do you think you're doing?" Bail asked harshly, punctuating his sentence with another firm push of his blaster. It was clear this person was some kind of Imperial officer, Bail didn't recognise the uniform but the dark, tailored clothing and polished accessories had the look of someone who worked for the Empire.

The woman was gently helped to her feet by a younger man, who led her away, muttering comfortingly.

"You are making a _very_ big mistake. Unless, of course, you actually want to get killed." The man sneered, as he turned slowly, his hands raised slightly. "I'm an _extremely_ important, high-ranking -"

"Uh-huh, _sure_ , high-ranking, important, _great_." Bail sarcastically interrupted him as he reached to the man's waist, a brass officer's buckle so similar to the ones he had seen on other members of the Empire confirming his suspicions, and snatched his blaster, attaching it to his own belt. Still aiming his own blaster at the face of the self-proclaimed VIP, he leaned forward menacingly, "I don't care _at all_ who you are."

This was a risky move, making a scene like this when he was supposed to be keeping a low profile, but Bail never could stand arrogant, jumped-up individuals who treated others so worthlessly. And this guy, whoever he was, seemed to be alone, there were no stormtroopers or other Imperial officers around, as far as he could tell. Just a lot of nosy onlookers who were watching in interest, probably quite happy to see someone from the Empire being brought down a peg or two.

The man looked _furious._ His pale white face had gone red with rage, Bail smirked but stopped short of actually laughing at the screwed up expression on his face.

 

* * *

 

 

Hux was, indeed, _furious._ This day was going from bad to disastrous, all that was needed was for Ren to somehow obtain holo-footage of this and his humiliation would be complete. He could hear snickering from the crowd around him, he could feel their mocking stares. He held his hands at chest height, hating the fact that he was reduced to this. And who precisely was this man with the blaster? He was dressed in fine, expensive clothes, and there was an air of confidence around him that spoke of wealth and power. Hux couldn't imagine that a random civilian would be so daring as to stand up to him when his manner and dress so clearly indicated that he was part of the First Order. A member of the Resistance? But, they had been severely reduced in the past few days and had gone to ground, hiding from the First Order's tracking. It was unlikely that a Resistance member would be so bold as to come forward like this at such a time.

" _Fine._ " He spat the word out, "You don't care who I am. Perhaps you want to tell me who _you_ are?" Hux enquired, guessing this man was, at the very least, a Resistance sympathiser who was taking the opportunity to throw his weight around. He hoped the man was stupid enough to tell him, so that he could exact revenge later.

"I don't have to tell scum like you, anything." The man smiled in a condescending way, which made Hux's blood boil. _The nerve!_

"You're nothing but a stain on the galaxy," the stranger continued in a low voice so that the people around couldn't hear, that smirk still firmly on his face, "and there are strong, brave people  _everywhere_ willing to fight you."

 

* * *

  

If the situation had been different, the next thing Bail would have done would have been to pull the trigger. However, he was surrounded by witnesses, who were probably mostly on the side of the Rebellion, but you could never be too careful. The last thing he needed was a dead Imperial official and a witness who was happy to provide the Empire with a detailed description of him. He was walking a fine line at the moment, and he couldn't afford anyone to figure out he was involved in the Rebel Alliance. As it stood, if anyone did say anything, he could play the part of a concerned citizen simply trying to help an elderly woman. The younger man was lucky because if they had been alone....well, let's just say, that particular member of the Empire would have disappeared without a trace.

Bail held his blaster firmly in front of him for a few more moments, letting the the officer sweat. Then he lowered it leisurely to convey his lack of fear.

"Go on then," Bail secured his own weapon next to the officer's blaster that now hung from his waist, "run along." He made a dismissive gesture with one hand. Nervous clapping rippled through the crowd as they started to disperse.

The red-headed man just stood there, quivering in rage, his hands balled into tight fists. "You _will_ regret this. I will bring down the full force -"

Bail had heard enough, and he swiftly clenched his hand and pulled his arm back gracefully before delivering a hefty punch to the face of the officer.

“No, you won’t.” He muttered to the now unconcious man who lay sprawled in the dirt. Glancing at him once last time, a strange sensation fluttered through him - making him think that his statement was correct, that they would never cross paths again. 

He shook his head, the feeling disappearing as quickly as it had appeared. His cape swirled around him as he turned briskly and headed to his ship, dropping the officer’s blaster carelessly as he went.

 

* * *

 

 

Hux would be found by the two stormtroopers later with no memory of the incident except for an unexplained burning sense of humiliation and fury. The memory of the arrogant official would fade from Bail's mind as soon as he lovingly hugged his wife and daughter. Hux would not be able to explain his black eye and Bail would barely notice the slight bruising on his knuckles. The fight for their respective sides, in their respective times, continued relentlessly. 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a new writer. Feedback/comments/constructive criticism welcome!


End file.
